The purpose of Theosis by Michael Paul Gama is summarized by the subtitle, Patristic Remedy for Evangelical Yearning at the Close of the Modern Age. This work is a cultural and theological articulation of a spiritual journey. Gama earned his MDiv from Fuller Seminary only to leave the evangelical world for Maronite Catholicism.

Evangelicalism, for Gama, is a “cultural ‘product’” (xvi) which offered religious answers to the questions posed by modernity. It was “widely ‘consumed’ because it widely ‘satisfied’” (xvi). The current exodus of millennials from the evangelical fold is evidence that the questions have changed and the old answers no longer satisfy. Gama’s analysis of the problem is insightful. He explains the cultural and theological shifts between the premodern, modern, and postmodern eras clearly. Ironically, he dismisses the Emergent Church as an answer to the problem, while echoing how Emergent Church leaders have described the problem for over fifteen years.

The religious answer to postmodern yearning is found by a return to premodern Eastern religion, specifically the doctrine of theosis. This doctrine was famously defined by Athanasius: “He [Jesus] was made man that man might be made God.” Unlike the narrow “Plan of Salvation” (96) articulated by evangelicals, theosis encompasses all of life, evoking a sense of mysterium tremendum (99) absent in evangelicalism.

When Gama entered a Maronite church for the first time, it felt like home. He discovered a rich and satisfying spirituality. There are, however, two significant problems with the way he extended this personal experience. He misunderstood millennials and undervalued legitimate evangelical spirituality.

In describing his solution to postmodern questions, Gama made an odd comparison. When the threat of martyrdom ceased with Constantine, the threat of complacency took its place. This prompted the desert monastics to flee society. Gama claims that young evangelicals left the church “for a reason parallel to . . . the Eastern monks” (125). While it is true that monks and millennials both fled Christendom, they traveled in different directions! The monastics left to be closer to God while evangelical “refugees” (25) became religious nones. Gama suggests that the nones simply need to be guided home to the Eastern fold where their longing will be satisfied. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. While a holistic understanding of the Christian life accompanied by a profound sense of mystery resonates with millennials, the hierarchical institutional nature of the Eastern Church pushes them away. Gama, a highly educated baby boomer, mistakenly assumed that his experience is transferable to millennials.

Dallas Willard wrote that evangelicals “haven’t dealt successfully with the challenge of transforming our characters into routine Christlikeness” (53), a critique underscored by Gama. Instead, they sought success in modernist terms: growth and political influence. This critique is legitimate, yet too broad to cover the entire evangelical world. Many people within evangelicalism have developed profound Christlikeness.

It is unrealistic to expect religious nones to convert en masse to Eastern Christianity. While premodern religious traditions do have significant answers to postmodern questions, they are not a comprehensive solution. It remains for Christians to draw on the strength of all traditions to embody Christlikeness among the nones.

Gama, Michael Paul. Theosis: Patristic Remedy for Evangelical Yearning at the Close of the Modern Age. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2017.